New Bands Look For Success Through Games

Reuters has an interesting article on how some bands are managing to make a decent living by avoiding record labels and selling their tracks to be used in video games instead.

It is a dark time for record labels and mainstream radio, but the people who pick music for video games say there has never been a better time to be an aspiring rock star.

…The worldwide executive of music at Electronic Arts Inc., which is the biggest video game publisher, put a once unknown Southern California band called Avenged Sevenfold in multiple games including EA’s “Need for Speed: Most Wanted” racing game and its perennially popular “Madden” football game, which is considered prime real estate. The band, also known as A7X, has since gotten a Warner Bros Records contract and its songs are now familiar to millions of gamers.

“We’re a new medium that delivers music in a new and interesting way,” said Alex Hackford, artist and repertoire manager for Sony Computer Entertainment America. Hackford has worked with bands in all stages of development, including Stab the Matador, a young band from upstate New York. He put them in baseball game “MLB 06: The Show.” From there, he said, the band got a booking agent and a national tour. “You have almost a completely level playing field,” said Hackford.

…Nick Beard, bassist for Circa Survive, said having the band’s music appear in a video game would be like fulfilling a childhood dream. “I’ve been playing video games since I was 5. It would just be sweet,” Beard said.

In May, PSFK reported on a new record label called EA Trax that video game maker Electronic Arts had launched.

Reuters.com

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